The Australian Federal Police (AFP) have issued a warning to parents to be vigilant in keeping their children safe online amid a surge in online child exploitation reports.
The AFP said that in March, as Australia entered its initial lockdown period, officers saw websites which hosted child sexual abuse material crash due to the increased volume of traffic.
“Such COVID-19 child abuse forums have grown to more than 1,000 members who are sharing hundreds of videos and images and discussing their tendencies toward the abuse of children,” the AFP said
“From 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020, the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) Child Protection Triage Unit received 21, 688 incoming reports of child exploitation, this compares to 14,165 reports received from the previous financial year,” it said.
ACCCE Commander Jamie Strauss said the AFP had seen children groomed, and then blackmailed to produce more and more extreme material with the fear that if they didn’t do it, the material would be shared.
“We suspect that offenders will use this second wave of COVID-19 as an opportunity to find more potential child victims, as young people spend an increasing amount of time online with limited adult supervision,” Commander Strauss said.
“The most important thing families and carers can do is to start the conversation about online safety with children from an early age and to continue talking with them regularly throughout all stages of their lives,” he said.
Commander Strauss said there were key things parents could do, including knowing what their children were doing and who they interacted with online; check privacy settings on social media and online accounts; supervise young children; and ensure children felt comfortable talking with an adult about issues they might experience online.
He also recommended parents visit the Think U Know website for further tips about protecting children online, as well as a Family Online Safety Contract.
The Think U Know website can be accessed at this PS News link.
